Sulfur analysis

Fast, accurate measurement of the sulfur content of soils, sediments, rocks, and other geologic samples is available with our LECO Sulfur analyzer.

In Total Sulfur analysis utilizing the LECO instrument, the sample is treated in a ceramic crucible with combustion accelerators (usually Fe plus Sn, Cu, or Sn-coated Cu), and the crucible is covered with a porous cover and heated to high temperature (c. 1600° C) in a stream of purified O2, the high temperature being generated by using an induction furnace to induce an electrical field in the accelerator-treated sample. The SO2 thus liberated is collected in dilute HCl containing KI, starch, and a trace amount of KIO3 and is determined by titration with standard KIO3 solution. The reactions involved in this titration procedure are as follows:
KIO3+ 5KI + 6HCl = 3I2+ 6KCl + 3H2O
SO2+ I2+ 2H2O = H2SO4+ 2HI

Before use, the burette of the automatic SO2 titrator is calibrated by analyzing sulfur standards provided by LECO, the instrument manufacturer.